


It's not unrequited if it’s real love

by ziniviniz



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Barista Percy, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Jealous Percy Jackson, Mentions of Sex, Percy is a Dork
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:40:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27330601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ziniviniz/pseuds/ziniviniz
Summary: “Um, hi” the girl said.As Percy turned around, the first thought that went through his head was ‘holy shit she’s pretty’. Percy knew there were many cute girls around his campus, some even flirted with him, he only knew that because Jason had heard the interaction and  told him. None of those girls ever really caught his eye, but this girl was stunning. He felt as though he could look at her forever.Wait a minute, that sounded incredibly creepy.or Percy's a barista and Annabeth walks into the cafe a few times
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Luke Castellan/Annabeth Chase
Comments: 1
Kudos: 40





	It's not unrequited if it’s real love

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, this is my first time writing fanfiction. Please comment what you think.

Percy glanced at the clock to his right and inwardly groaned. He still had another hour before his shift ended. His friends were going out to a party tonight but he had declined since he was a pretty broke college senior and he seriously needed some cash. Plus he wasn't that fond of parties, drunk people making out in random places, fights breaking out, music that was way too loud and the entire place reeking of alcohol. Percy despised alcohol, he swore to never even touch it after his ex-stepfather's doings. 

As his thoughts continued to swarm his head, he didn’t notice a head of blonde curls walk through the door and enter the cafe. The cafe was mostly empty tonight, only a man sitting in a booth in the corner furiously typing away at his laptop, so the girl didn’t have to wait in line.

She approached the counter and cleared her throat to get Percy’s attention.

“Um, hi” the girl said.

As Percy turned around, the first thought that went through his head was ‘holy shit she’s pretty’. Percy knew there were many cute girls around his campus, some even flirted with him, he only knew that because Jason had heard the interaction and told him. None of those girls ever really caught his eye, but this girl was stunning. He felt as though he could look at her forever.

Wait a minute, that sounded incredibly creepy.

“Umm, hello” the girl sounded incredibly annoyed. He could tell she was annoyed by her impatient tone and the fact that she was rapidly snapping her fingers in front of his face. Percy shook his head in hopes of making his mind get rid of thoughts about how pretty the girl in front of him was.

“ Hello, w-welcome to The Grindhouse, what can I get for you”, Percy said, his voice shaking ever so slightly, sue him, he was talking to Aphrodite herself. 

Now that he looked up at her, and made eye contact, he realized her eyes were a fascinating shade of grey. Not just a dull grey, a stormy grey, that looked as though she could calculate your every move in a fight. Not that Percy wanted to fight her or anything, she looked as though she could snap Percy in half, within seconds, and Percy himself was pretty fit himself, years of swimming does that to a person. He could seriously look at her eyes forever.

Woah, incredibly creepy once again.

As the girl recited her order of a pretty complex coffee, and a cheese croissant, Percy realized that they looked very similar in terms of age. He truly wanted to get to know her, what her name was, how many siblings she had, what she looked when she woke up.

Okay, that sounded extremely creepy. He realized he would be able to fulfill one of his wishes due to company policy.  
“Okay, can i get a name for order?” he asked timidly, even though excitement flooded through his stomach that he was going to get her name.

“Sure, Annabeth”.

Percy smiled to himself in secrecy because he would have looked like a creepy stalker if he had smiled right at her just after she had given him her name. 

He turned around and got to work, making sure he would get her order completely correct. Annabeth. That was a very unique name, but it sounded quite familiar to him, he has no idea why. He had met a few Anna’s and Beth’s, but never an Annabeth.

Once he was done, he called out her name and she came to collect her order.

“So, did i get your coffee order right or what?” He asked casually, not intending to sound flirty, for all he knows she could have a boyfriend. Or girlfriend, plus he doesn’t know how to flirt. She amusedly raised an eyebrow and pulled the cup towards her mouth to take a sip.

She dramatically lowered the cup and Percy had his fingers crossed behind his back.

“Wow, you got it absolutely spot on, not many people get it completely right, thanks,” Annabeth looked impressed. Percy grinned at her. 

He took a closer look at her and realized she had a few drops of coffee right above her lips making it look like a mustache. Instantly, he burst out laughing, which caused her to shoot him a confused look.

“Did I say something funny?” she questioned. Percy shook his head attempting to pull himself together. His boss wouldn't appreciate him being unprofessional while working. He shook his head, trying to get words out of his mouth.

“N-no, you’ve got a mustache, look,” he pointed towards her face. She rolled her eyes and then raised her hand and swiped the mustache away.

“You’re so childish,” she said with no heat behind her words. Percy grinned back at her.

“Anyways, thanks, i have to go now umm-”

“Percy”

“Well Percy, thanks for the spot on coffee, I have to go back to my roommate now, she made me swear to go to a party with her tonight.”

She paid and then left. Percy watched her go and for the rest of his shift, he had a smile on his face.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The second time he met her, he saw Annabeth walk into the cafe from a mile away. Today was a Sunday which meant he was working the afternoon shift from 12-5pm. He couldn't actually believe Annabeth was here. He had been hoping against hope that he would get a chance to see Annabeth again. Even though their last interaction had been about for 2 minutes, he couldn’t get her off of his mind for the past couple of days. That sounds stalkerish, he knows. He regretted not getting her number before and promised himself this time he would be brave and ask for it.

As she approached the counter, Percy shot her a grin.

“Hey Annabeth, how was the party?” She looked confused for a moment, before realization dawned all over her face.

“Oh, it was alright, I didn’t really want to go, I have a calculus test tomorrow and I really wanted to study on Friday, but my friend Piper ended up bribing me to go to the party with her,” she rambled.

“Oh you take Calculus, where?”

“Columbia, I actually major in architecture but Calc is a class I need to take to.”

“Architecture huh? You must like math then huh?”

“I don’t love math, but I don’t hate it either,” Annabeth replied logically.

“Are you in college as well?”

“Yeah, I go to NYU, marine biology, I'm a senior.”

“Oh, cool, same.”

Percy was about to ask her another question before a lady behind Annabeth cleared her throat loudly signalling for them to hurry up and finish their conversation. He looked down in embarrassment as heat filled his cheeks. Once he looked up at Annabeth, she was looking at him a bit weirdly, amused. “Great”, he thought to himself, “Annabeth probably realized about my massive crush on her”.

Percy cleared his throat.

“Hello, what may I get you?” He asked, forcing a polite, businesslike voice.  
Annabeth continued to look amused.

“I”ll have what I had last time, if you still remember that is?”

Percy nodded and hurried to the back to make her extra complex coffee. He saw Connor Stoll, the other barista take the next person’s order, so that gave him a bit of time to make Annabeth’s coffee. Not only was he making her coffee, he was also building up the courage to ask Annabeth for her. He swore he would not back out.

Once he was done, he took a heavy breath. His heart was literally beating out of his chest. He really hoped she wasn’t with someone, otherwise his heart might break. He didn’t know why he was so nervous, he was just going to ask for her number, that’s it, plus Percy’s had a girlfriend before, nothing serious, but he wasn’t new to these kinds of things.

As he called out her name with a shaky voice, she approached with a smile on her face. He realized her hair looked like a princess’s hair. She also had tan skin, something really rare in New York. The only reason Percy had tan skin was because of his greek background.

“Hey babe,” a voice said from behind Annabeth. She turned her face and instantly her face lit up. 

“Hey Luke, just wait a sec, I’m just getting my order.” She went up to him and kissed his cheek and Percy thinks his heart might’ve just ripped into a thousand pieces.

She grabbed her coffee and croissant, bid Percy a smile and a thanks and left with Luke.

As they turned left, Percy looked at Luke. He was about Percy’s height. A bit taller than 6 feet. He had really blue eyes, and blonde hair that reminded Percy of sand. If you ask Percy, he thought Annabeth and Luke were way too blonde together.

Luke, Percy thought bitterly, what a stupid name. (no offence to any Luke’s out there).So, Percy’s biggest nightmare had come to life, Annabeth had a boyfriend and looked happy with him. 

He was miserable for the rest of his shift and managed to get two people’s orders wrong. He didn’t even have the emotional strength to flip off Connor when he laughed at him.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Percy arrived at his and Jason’s tiny apartment, the first person he saw was Piper, Jason’s girlfriend sitting on their couch staring intently at the TV screen watching one of her reality TV shows. This is supposed to be the part where he makes a snarky comment at her, but he’s just not in that mood today.

As the door shut, she looked up at him. 

“Why hello there,” she said in a sarcastic voice,” Jason and I made brownies, there are some on the counter for you.”

“No thanks, not hungry,” Percy slightly winced at how miserable his voice sounded. He just really wanted to go to his bed and have himself a pity party for a couple of hours. With that in mind, he took off his shoes and rushed to his bedroom not missing when Piper muttered to herself “what’s up with him?”

He got to his room, and shut the door quietly, not wanting Piper or Jason to worry too much about him, come to think of it, he wasn;t even sure if Jason was even home right now or not. Either way he just wanted to be left alone.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Percy was officially a hermit for the next two days. Luckily for him, he didn’t have any classes on Monday, thank the heavens. The only times he would leave his room was to go to the bathroom. He knew it was only a matter of time before Jason would come barging in demanding to know what was wrong, and why he wasn’t eating anything. Or maybe it might’ve been Piper who would do it, since she practically lived with them, which reminded Percy that he would have to start looking for a new roommate soon since Piper and Jason would move in together after graduating.

On Monday night, after eating cheerios for dinner all by himself, holed up in his room, Percy got the idea to do some research. On that Luke guy. 

He searched Annabeth’s name on his Instagram and immediately found her profile. Luckily for him, it wasn’t a private account which allowed him to see all of her posts. She had a bit more than two thousand followers, similar to Percy, who had a bit less. He also learnt that her last name was Chase. 

Bingo! He had found a few posts that Ananbeth had posted with Luke in them. There was one with a picture of them on the beach together, and a few in parks and other places. Just looking at these pictures made him feel darkness again. 

He truly doesn’t know why he’s so sad. Altogether, they’ve talked for like five minutes to each other. So why’s he so sad? As he was trying to figure out an answer, he heard footsteps approach his door and heard Jason and Piper whisper to each other.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with him, he’s been all mopey since he came home yesterday,” Percy heard what was clearly Piper trying to whisper.

“I know, should we tal-  
“ I can hear you guys you know” Percy called out, hurriedly shutting his phone knowing that they would come in and see his phone screen.

True to his words, they had barged into the room. Piper, upon seeing how tired and miserable he looked, went up to him and gave him a big hug. It felt good, he really needed that hug. Once she pulled away, she looked up at him and demanded to know what was wrong.

“Nothing’s wrong, I’m just really tired,” he replied back unconvincingly.

“Oh don’t give us that bulshit Perce, we know something’s wrong, and we’re pretty worried about you, it might help if you talk about it,” Jason shot at him, attempting to be as patient as possible.

Percy rolled his eyes, Jason sounded like a therapist, which was weird, since he was studying aerospace, or Percy forgot, something got to do with aeroplanes.

“Jason’s right Percy, you’ll feel better if you talk about it,” Piper said in a soft voice. He believed her, she was majoring in human psychology anyway, so she probably knew what she was talking about.

“It-it’s stupid.” Percy replied sadly looking at the ground. And know that he did think about it, it was kind of stupid, he only met Annabeth twice in his life, it’s not like he was in love with her or anything.

“Percy, you didn’t stop crying for two days after Darth Vader died, and I had to deal with that then, I think i can deal with this now.” Jason replied trying to keep a straight face.

“Alright fine, there’s this girl that’s been coming into the coffee shop the past couple of shifts I’ve worked, and I found out she has a boyfriend. Happy now?” 

He looked up at the two of them and noticed Jason was trying really hard not to laugh and Piper looked at him with a pitiful expression.

“Wait, let me get this straight, you’ve been sulky for the past two days because a girl you’ve only met twice has a boyfriend. You’re right, you are stupid.” Jason was well and truly laughing now. He only stopped when Piper smacked his arm.

“Jason, be a more supportive friend right now, Percy just had his heart broken”.

Jason just rolled his eyes at his girlfriend’s antics.

“Don’t be sad Percy, many girls find you attractive, even if you don’t know it, it’ll only be a matter of time before you find the right girl. Now come on, Jason and I are going out tonight, you’re coming with,” she finished bossily. So much for being supportive.  
Percy groaned.

“Sorry Pipes, I have no intention of third wheeling tonight, plus seeing you guys all cute and couply is just going to make me feel worse.”

“Well, It’s not just me and Jason, my friend’s coming too, you can hang out with her.”

“Well, what if I don’t want to go, I have class tomorrow morning.”

“We’re not giving you a choice Perce, and don’t lie you don’t have class till 2 in the afternoon tomorrow,” Jason spoke up. Damn him.

“Alright, alright, jeez stop nagging me. When are we going anyway?”

“Right after you shower and change.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Percy seriously wished he could just blend into the car seats.

Everything had started off just fine, he had taken a warm shower as Piper picked out some nice clothes for him to wear. They had all got into his car, since Jason’s one was at Leo’s garage getting repaired. Piper had begged Percy to let Jason drive since she claimed ‘he looks really hot when driving’. Percy didn’t even want to get into an argument with Piper about how weird that sounded so he handed Jason his keys without complaint.

As Piper gave directions to Jason as to where Piper’s friend was waiting for them, that’s when Percy seriously regretted tagging along with them. Piper’s friend pulled open the door and revealed herself.

There, in all her glory, was Annabeth Chase herself.

She got into the back seat next to Percy and greeted Piper and Jason with warm smiles. Then she noticed Percy. He tried not to cringe as realization crept into her expression.

“Hey, Percy right? You’re the barista.”

“Yeah, that’s me. The barista, hello Annabeth,” Percy hoped that he wasn’t blushing but Annabeth looking at him so intently was kinda making it hard for him. 

“Wait,” Piper called from the front seat, “you two know each other?”

“Yeah, I’ve met Percy twice, he works at The Grindhouse. He’s actually the only person, besides me who can actually make my coffee right.” Annabeth beamed at him, and holy shit, one second she looked as though she was going to kick your ass, and the next she looked adorable.

“Damn Perce, didn’t know you had that in you.” Jason called from the driver seat. “ I’ve tried it about a hundred times, it’s always too much sugar, or not enough cream or coffee or water or milk or whatever,” Jason continued, failing miserably at trying to mimic her voice.

Annabeth just rolled her eyes, “shut up Jason.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Percy wasn’t going to lie, he actually had a really good time. He mostly hung out with Annabeth. They didn’t really watch the movie, they mostly talked. 

She was so easy to talk to, and he found out they had so many things in common. They were both geeks for old greek myths and stories, they shared a passion when it came to sports, and he realized they had a fair number of mutual friends. Honestly, it was quite a shock to him that he had neve met her before.

After finding out that Percy had an obsession of swimming and possessed a lack of brains, she had given him the nickname seaweed brain and he in return called her wise girl after realizing she was incredibly smart and the captain of four different clubs at Columbia.

He also found out that she had two step brothers and a stepmom who she had a rocky relation with. She told him that her father was a professor at Harvard and she never knew her mom. He, in return, told her about his dad, and how he was a dick for leaving his mom when he found out that she was pregnant with him. He then proceeded to tell her about how much of an asshole his first stepdad was, not going into too much detail. He didn’t want to scare her off.

He also told her about his obsession with blue food, how much he loved his mom, and how happy he was that she was finally happy with Paul and pursuing her dreams of becoming a writer. He then proceeded to show her a photo on his phone of baby Estelle, she cooed at the photo and exclaimed about how cute she was.

They went to get ice cream after, and Percy found out that she preferred vanilla, “plain”, he had told her. She just responded by sticking her tongue out at him.

As the night was ending, they were driving Annabeth back at her place. Percy had truly had a great time, he thinks he might seriously be in love with annabeth. That thought made him feel giddy, but then he remembered about Luke.

He couldn’t have Annabeth. She had a boyfriend, Percy wasn’t going to ruin her relationship or their friendship by trying to make a move.

“So Piper, are you coming to actually sleep in your apartment tonight, or are you going to stay at Percy’s and Jason’s?” Annabeth asked, looking at Piper.

Percy was a bit confused for a second over what she meant by that, before finally realizing that Annabeth and Piper lived together. That’s why her name sounded so familiar the first time he heard it, because Piper had mentioned her a bunch of times.

“Nahhh, I’m going to Jason’s. You have the whole apartment to yourself.”

“Well,” Annabeth smirked, I won't be alone, I’ll call up Luke, he’ll be over within minutes.”

Percy knew what she meant by that,many people had called him dumb or slow, but he wasn’t stupid. 

His head was spinning, he really needed this conversation to end right now.

She attempted to hug everyone goodbye, including Percy, trying her best, but it wasn’t easy, being in a car and all that.

She bid everyone one last goodbye and smiled before leaving and shutting the door.

As soon as she left, Piper turned on him with sad sympathetic eyes.

“She’s the girl right?”

Percy didn’t even need to ask her what she meant by that. Piper was always too smart for her own good when it came to things like crushes and relationships and all that sappy stuff.

He just nodded, and her eyes softened. Percy could tell by the way Jason looked at him through the rearview mirror, that he understood what Piper asked him as well.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Percy has a pounding headache, he hated his Thursday three hour physics class, which was on the far side of campus meaning he had to walk extra, after getting off the bus. He could take his car, but he was a firm believer in keeping fit and therefore, that meant walking to the subway and busses.

Anyways, as he walked through the grass area, he thought about how much he absolutely hated physics, the only reason he was taking it was because it was necessary for his major. His dyslexia had been working up even more than usual today, which made him just take photos of the board behind his professor instead of writing down his own notes. And he knew he would keep deferring actually writing down the notes due to his laziness.

He promised that wouldn’t be the case though. The second he got home, he would shower, start his biology project and write down these notes. He swears. 

But then, he saw Annabeth. And she was walking right towards him. He hadn’t seen or talked to her since Monday night, hoping she would show up at the cafe during his shifts but no such luck.

After a few seconds, he got a bit confused as to what she was doing at NYU campus but then, seeing the person next to her, holding her hand, he realized exactly what she was doing here. 

Piper had explained to him that Luke was also a senior at NYU. He had asked her how she knew all these things. She impatiently replied back “Annabeth’s my best friend, she tells me things”

Although Percy really wanted to talk to her, he was allowed to right? They were friends after all, he lowered his face and attempted to walk quickly. hoping Annabeth wouldn’t notice him, in this mostly deserted part of campus. Talking to her while Luke was there would make him miserable for the next few hours, maybe even days, and he really needed to make a move on that project he swore to start.

Unfortunately, luck had run out for him.

“Percy! Hey Percy” Annabeth called out to him. Although he would like nothing more than to keep on walking, he forced himself to stop, and looked up at both of them.

Annabeth looked as amazing as ever. Luke stood next to her protectively with a frown on his face. He cautiously approached them and waved at both of them.

“Hey Annabeth, how are you?”

“Great, by the way, Percy, this is my boyfriend Luke. Luke, this is my friend Percy.” She introduced the two of them.

Percy stuck his hand out first, not wanting to appear rude. He looked up at Luke and realized they were fairly the same height, Luke was maybe half an inch taller than Percy. That thought left a bitter taste in his mind. Bitter taste in his mind, is that even possible.

Percy noticed Luke had a scar on his face. A pretty long one, it ran from right under his right eye, all the way to his jawline. 

Luke also had a pretty firm handshake. 

He knew Luke was trying to intimidate him, but there was no way Percy was going to give in. He shot him a fake grin and he returned one right back. A fake one, he knows. Percy seriously did not want to be here any longer. He could feel his mood already starting to dampen.

He cleared his throat.

“So anyways, good seeing you again Annabeth, I gotta go though, I have a lot of homework to complete before work,” Percy said, which wasn’t a lie at all.

Was he imagining it, or did Annabeth look slightly disappointed. His brain must be playing tricks on him.

“Oh yeah, of course, well, see you around”

He smiled back at both of them and headed back towards his place.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Come to Frank’s house party tomorrow,” Jason demanded, looking over at him.

“I can’t, you know I work Friday nights.”

“That’s why you don’t get any action, Friday nights are supposed to be for partying and then getting laid.”

“What are you talking about, you have a girlfriend?”

Jason grinned at him. “Which means I get action every night.”

Percy leaned over and necked him.

“It’s bad enough hearing you and Piper go at it all the time, especially when I’m trying to sleep.”

Jason blushed, “Oh, I didn’t know you could hear us.”

Percy rolled his eyes. And people called him the dumb one.

“Are-

“Okay, not the point” Jason interrupted him, “you’re coming to Frank’s party tomorrow weather you like it or not. And besides, Annabeth’s going to be there as well.

Percy groaned. He had nothing against Frank, he loved the guy. He had nothing against Annabeth either. But he absolutely hated going to parties. Everytime he went, there were always some girls with dresses that were way too small, wearing high heels, that looked at him like he was a piece of meat waiting to be devoured.

That was a huge reason as to why he hated parties. Also, he absolutely hated alcohol. He could still remember vividly those days Gabe would lay his hands on him and call him worthless, his breath reeking of alcohol.

“But Jason-

“No buts Percy, you’re going, I’m not saying you have to hookup with someone, but, it would be good socializing, plus we haven’t seen Frank in ages.”

“Ughh, fine, whatever. Oh shit, my shift’s in 20 minutes, I gotta hurry.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This time, it was Percy at the wheels. It was his car after all. He knew the way to Frank and Hazel’s apartment by heart due to the number of times he’s been there, Although, Percy thought, he hasn: seen them for a long time. 

He knew it was neither of their faults. Classes demand more and more as their diplomas get closer and closer, working to make a bit of cash, things happen.

Once him, Piper and Jason got into the lobby, they approached the receptionist.

Piper was the one that spoke up, “Hi we’re visiting Frank Zhang and Hazel Lavesque, they live in penthouse 106.”

“Ah yes, you may go up.”

The three of them thanked them as they walked towards the elevators.

Percy had to admit, he was a little jealous of the elegance of this building. Hazel and Frank already had decent paying jobs and their parents’ were really rich, an added bonus. His and Jason’s place was an apartment in which the elevators did not work. 

The elevator even dinged when it arrived at its destination.

Piper led the way to door 106 and swiftly knocked.

Immediately, the grinning, baby face of Frank Zhang appeared in the doorway.

“Hey guys, you’re a bit early.” Frank continued to grin at them.

He bro-hugged Jason and Percy and then quickly hugged Piper. He ushered them inside. 

“There are a few people, but we’ve already started.” Frank pointed towards the large speakers, which was blaring music. “Anyways, you guys help yourself to whatever, I’ll be near the doors to let people in.” Shooting them one rushed smile he hurried back towards the door.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After about two hours, Percy seriously started to regret coming to this stupid party, the music was getting a bit too loud for his ears, he had already gone through three cans of mountain dew and he really needed to go to the bathroom.

Ultimately, it wasn’t that bad, Percy had seen a few of his friends and politely conversed with them before excluding himself to get more soda. He had also spoken to Hazel, Connor and Travis Stoll, Chris Rodriguez and a bunch of his friends from the swim team.

It was when he was heading towards the bathroom upstairs, that he had seriously regretted coming here.

A girl approached him. She looked to be about his age, a few of inches shorter than him. Her face was caked with makeup and she wore a red dress that looked uncomfortably tight and was extremely tiny. She had dark hair and really cold brown eyes.

“Hi”, she purred,”my name's Drew.”

Percy really hated this, but he didn’t want to appear rude.

“Hi, I’m Percy.”

“Mm, Percy huh?” She slowly started running a finger up and down his arm. Percy tried his best to politely squirm away. He knew what this girl wanted and she was making him extremely uncomfortable.

“Well Percy, you’re quite the looker.” she leaned in and whispered sultrily.”you wanna go upstairs and take this dress off?”

Straight to the point, Percy thought to himself. She wanted to go upstairs and do a nasty deed with him in what was probably Hazels and Frank’s bedroom. No way, Percy had a lot of respect for them both. Plus, Percy hates the idea of one night stands. If you want to have sex with someone, it should be someone you genuinely care about.

It wasn’t as though Percy had never done it before. His previous few girlfriends had all mentioned to him that he was quite good in bed.

Percy was politely about to decline before he was interrupted.

“Percy.” He instantly knew who that voice belonged to. He thinks he’d be able to recognise that voice anytime, anywhere.

He turned around, thankful for his savior. He smiled gratefully at the head of blonde curls. His heart sped up just at the sight of her. She looked beautiful. Her golden curls were flawless and she wore a stunning green dress that reached just below her knees. She had minimal makeup on and her grey eyes were shining.

Annabeth looked a bit angry though, he has no idea why.

“Am- am I interrupting something?” She asked.

Surprisingly, Drew was the one to answer, “ No.” she leaned in towards Percy again. “If you’re interested, come look for me.” With that she walked away, making her hips sway unnaturally.

Percy made a mental note to himself to not go looking for her.

He turned to Annabeth. He attempted to smile but faltered upon seeing her shoot a murderous glare to where Drew had just left. Instantly he frowned, concerned.

“Hey, you look like you want to kill Drew, you don’t like her or something?”

She sighed. “Not really, no. What did she want?” she demanded from him.

“Oh, she wanted me to go upstairs with her and take off her dress.” Percy shuddered at the thought.

That caused her to frown even further.

“What did you say?”

“I was about to say hell no, but then you showed up and saved the day. My hero.” 

When Percy looked up at her, he saw the frown on her face turned upside down. Or whatever the saying was. Either way she looked happy. 

Percy suddenly remembered that he really needed to go to the bathroom.

“Hey give me a minute, i gotta go to the bathroom. Be right back

She smiled and nodded to him, also mentioning she would wait for him on the stairs for when he got back, which made Percy’s heart soar, because that meant she enjoyed his presence right?

As he hurriedly went up the stairs, he reached the top floor of the penthouse. It had a massive bedroom, sitting in the enormous hallway which also had a few other little rooms. The door was slightly shut and he could hear two people going at it in there. 

That was the perfect example as to why Percy would never host a college party at his place. He thinks he wouldn't be able to sleep in his bedroom without disinfecting every inch of it.

He quickly rushes to the bathroom vowing to go home soon. Sure Annabeth was here, but he hated talking to her over the music. Plus, Drew running her fingers over his arm and chest really wanted to make him take a shower. 

Once he was done, he got to the stairs and was about to start descending when he froze. 

He saw Annabeth waiting for him in the middle of the staircase like she’d promised, and judging by her facial expression she knew she had heard the noise as well. 

Slowly, her expression turned from shock to complete anger. 

She instantly rushed past him, and barged into the master bedroom. Percy slowly followed her knowing who was in there.

The sound of two people making out stopped and all Percy could hear was the faint noise of music from the party.

“Luke, h-how, you know what nevermind, don’t fucking call me ever again, we’re done.” Annabeth yelled, hurt and betrayal dawning all over her face.

“Annabeth wai-”

But she had already rushed out of the room, slamming the door, tears, running down her face.

She rushed past him and he knew she was leaving. Percy really wanted to follow her, but decided she just needed some time to herself right now. He knew Luke would try and attempt to explain what happened sooner or later, but he really hoped she wouldn’t even listen to his lame excuses of cheating.

Percy honestly didn’t even know what to think about this. Is he happy Annabeth and Luke were done, or does he feel bad that Annbeth got her heart broken. Honestly, he’s too tired to even process his thoughts, He just wants to go go to sleep.

He decided to call it a night and texted Jason that he was going home and if him and Piper were good enough to get back on their own. Jason replied back soon enough saying they were going to spend the night here. He also sent a text out to Frank and Hazel thanking them and mentioning that he’s really tired and leaving.

He couldn’t help but breathe in a sigh of relief when the cool night air hit his face.

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Luckily, for Percy, he didn’t have a pounding the next morning. Thank heavens he doesn’t drink, he thinks that he’d never really be able to deal with a hangover. He woke up pretty early, which was quite unusual for him on a Saturday.

It only dawned on him that he woke up because he could hear Jason talking on his phone quite loudly. Confused, he stood up from his bed and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Jason was supposed to have stayed over at Frank and Hazel’s. What was he doing here already?

Once he exited the bathroom, he left his room and found Jason lounging on their couch.

“Hey man, you’ll never believe what happened, Annabeth caugh-

“I know what happened Jase, I was there when it happened,” Percy interrupted quickly. 

“Oh, okay. And what do you make of this messy situation?”

“Honestly, I feel sad for Annabeth, seeing her so heartbroken, but the guilty side of me also feels a bit glad they're done. That’s okay right? I don’t want to be a dick head.”

“What you’re feeling is normal Perce. The girl you really like just ended what seems to be a messy relationship and it’s okay for you to feel a bit glad, you’re human. Just give her some time to adjust first if you want to make a move, since Annabeth and Luke were together for a pretty long time, it’s going to take time for her to heal.”

Percy knew Jason was right. When did he get so good at emotions and stuff. Piper must be contagious.

“Yeah you’re right, where’s Piper anyway?”

“Oh Annabeth called her early this morning crying, so she went to stay with her.”

Percy instantly felt glum. Luke didn’t deserve Annabeth’s tears and her time and love. She deserved the whole goddamn world. He just wished she’d give him a chance.

“Now come on it’s Saturday and my head hurts, let’s just be lazy all day and watch movies,” Jason called at him.

Percy will tell you he concentrated on the TV screen, but the only thing living in his head rent-free was Annabeth.

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When Piper got back, she informed them that Annabeth was really sad. The two of them had spent the morning ranting on and on about Luke and what a jerk he was. Piper also told them that Annabeth had promised she wouldn’t let Luke back into her life. Apparently, their relationship had been slowly falling away. Luke cheating had just been the cherry on the icing of the cake. She said she wouldn’t stay long here, she’d go back to her and Annabeth’s place within an hour to make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid.

Before she left, he cornered Piper.

“Hey Pipes, I was wondering if you could give me Annabeth’s number?”

She looked a bit hesitant first, then smiled at him. “Sure.” she had said in a cheery voice.

As she recited off her number, Percy felt excitement flood through his veins, Gosh, he finally had her number. He promised he wouldn’t make a big deal out of it. He saved it to his phone, and rushed to his room and texted her.

Hey its Percy  
Piper gave me your number  
I hope you dont mind

She responded within seconds

Percy???  
No its okay, im actually kind of glad

Percy punched the air. She said she was happy he had her number. That meant something right?

How you feeling?

Like shit

Eh dont  
Luke’s a dick

Cant argue with that

Hey you wanna came to the cafe tomorrow, Im working from 12-5, we could hangout

Percy was suddenly feeling anxious. Was that a risky text? What if she laughed at him? ‘Haha, you really think I wanna be near you, stupid” What if she wrote that. Percy didn’t dwell on those thoughts any longer, she had just responded.

Sure

Percy thinks his heart sped up after seeing the smile emoji she sent after.

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She did come by the next day, just like she had promised. They hung out in the cafe and talked about almost everything. He thinks they could never run out of topics. They teased each other and Percy’s heart soars. He also couldn’t help but notice her sad features. She had ranted on and on about how much of a dick Luke was and Percy was a great audience, also adding his own comments from time to time. Whenever a customer did appear, he would rush with their order, and hurry back to Annabeth. Luckily for him, it wasn’t that busy today.

They went on like this for months. Annabeth is his best friend now, something to which Jason scowls at. Sometimes he would even go over to hers when Jason and Piper started getting too loud. He even spent the night a few times.

Annabeth slowly healed over Luke. Some days, he would see her upset and he knew the reason. But recently, Annabeth’s been smiling a lot more, she was always genuinely happy. Percy swears sometimes he caught her staring at him when she thought he wasn’t looking.  
When he caught her, she would look away rapidly. Percy didn’t miss the hint of red on her cheeks and Piper’s knowing look.

Come graduation, Percy couldn’t be happier. He was going to start working at an aquarium which just had its grand opening a few nights ago. It wasn’t his ideal work but it was related to marine life, which he loved, it was a step in the right direction. Annabeth was going to start working at an architecture firm here in New York. Jason wasn’t done with college though, he was chasing a masters degree in aerospace engineering. Piper was also chasing a masters degree as well as Hazel and Frank. He was well and truly happy for all of his friends. He was immensely proud of himself as well. 

Piper and Jason were going to move in together, in a few weeks. Luckily for Percy, he had found a new roommate to share the rent. A crazy elfish boy named Leo Valdez, who was still in his junior year of college. Percy promised he would pay a bit more for rent, since he would start earning a decent wage at the aquarium and Leo was still a college student. 

Percy couldn’t explain the feeling of gidiness when he walked through the stage and collected his graduate certificate. His mom cried tears of joy. Percy gave her a massive hug and thinks he might have cried a bit too. Never in his life head he thought that he would’ve ever been a college graduate. Many of his teachers when he was younger had called him hopeless, or helpless.

He found Annabeth after the ceremony and she looked as beautiful as ever. She gave him that dazzling smile that was always reserved for him.

“Congrats seaweed brain.” She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. She looked away a bit shyly and Percy thinks he might have fallen in love with her right then and there. So, building up as much courage as he could muster, he kisses her.

And she kisses back, and holy fuck Percy was kissing her. Her lips tasted like strawberries and blueberries and all the other berries. He can feel the fireworks burst in his deep in his belly. He pulls away, leaving them both breathless. She beams up at him

“I’ve been waiting for you to do that for a long time.” She told him shyly.

Percy grinned.

“Well, we’ve got a lot of time to make up for.”

Percy wants to tell her that he’s in love with her, but now’s not the perfect time. He swears he’ll tell her soon enough. And when he does, he’ll continue to tell her everyday, and luckily for him, she says it back every single time.

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Epilogue- 13 years later

“And that’s how your mom and I met.” Percy explained softly, to his seven year old daughter and his three year old son.

“I remember when she walked in, I couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful she was. She still is.”

Samantha, his daughter looked up at her mom. 

“And what did you think about daddy, mommy?” she questioned intelligently. Luckily, for him, she had not only grown her mother’s hair, but her brain was similar to her mom’s as well.

“I thought he was very cute, he made my coffee right and that made me like him even more.” Annabeth answered smiling looking at Percy.

Percy found this as the perfect moment to tease her.

“Awww, wise girl you have a crush on me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh no seaweed brain, I have a crush on my husband, how dare I. What is this trechar-”

She didn’t finish her sentence because Percy pulled her in for a long kiss.

“Shut up wise girl, you love me.”

“Yeah I do.” She had the fondest expression on her face as she looked up at him.

“Ew, mommy and daddy are gross.” He heard Samantha call out. He couldn’t help but laugh at that.

**Author's Note:**

> constructive criticism appreciated!!


End file.
